SCHOOL pupils in York have been working hard to raise money to help the people affected by the terrorist attacks on America.

Teenagers from Fulford School raised almost £1,200 in a street collection for the American Red Cross.

Teacher Lorna Savage said three girls in her Year Nine group, Sally Robinson, Lucy Crowther and Abby Drummond, had told her they wanted to do something to help the people in New York.

Within days a collection had been organised and nearly 30 other pupils at the school had offered to help. They collected around six points in the city centre on Saturday and raised £1,191.

Mrs Savage said: "People were very generous and all these pupils gave up their Saturdays to do this."

At Carr Junior School, in Acomb, a toy and cake sale raised £87.60, which was handed over to York firefighters, to send on to the appeal.

The idea came from Sian Dixon, nine, Hayley Gilbank, ten, and Laurie Alexander, nine, who went to head teacher Gordon Rusk saying they wanted to do something for the cause.

School secretary Brenda Flude said they had received lots of support from other children, from parents who baked cakes and from staff. "All the children bought things and some of the children who hadn't spent up their money donated whatever spare money they'd got," she said.

Children and parents at Hob Moor Junior School, also in Acomb, held a Monday "bun day" to raise money for the fire service of New York.

Staff sold buns at ten pence a time to the junior school pupils, which had been donated by parents and kitchen staff at the school. There were so many buns donated that the bun day had to run into Tuesday and Wednesday, and a grand total of £150 was raised.

Meanwhile, Evening Press readers are continuing to send donations to the New York Firefighter Disaster Fund. Another £1,025 has arrived in the past 24 hours, taking the amount raised by readers to more than £4,400.

That boosts the grand total for the York firefighters' appeal to more than £36,000.

One reader sent a note accompanying her cheque: "Just a small donation for all the brave people of New York. Let's hope that in the end, good will come out of this terrible disaster."

Another said her father has served in the York City Fire Brigade for 20 years. "I know that he would have been deeply saddened by the tragedy in New York."

Updated: 11:07 Thursday, September 27, 2001